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Modi, Ghani inaugurate Kabul’s Stor Palace

Kabul—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the newly-restored Stor Palace in Kabul with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani via video link on Monday, Tolo News reported.
“In our hearts and minds, Indians and Afghans have always been close friends,” the Indian premier said, adding that India’s 1.25 billion people will “always be on Afghanistan’s side in terms of working towards peace and stability”.
The Indian PM said that joint initiatives between the two countries symbolised “the foundations of a modern Afghanistan”.
“India will always work with you (Afghanistan) for a bright future,” he said.
He used the occasion to talk again about the India, Afghanistan and Iran transit corridor deal — to develop the Chabahar port – and about the Salma Dam India has built in the Herat province.
“Salma Dam will renew not just the economy and agriculture of Afghanistan’s Herat, but will build a strong pillar of support for Afghan’s overall growth. And the Afghanistan and Iran transit corridor (deal) that we signed this year is another landmark in our partnership,” Modi said.
The Stor Palace, also known as Qasre-stor, was initially built as a one-storey pavilion during the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan. It was expanded on at least two occasions in the 20th century.
In 1919, one of the rooms in the Palace was the setting for the signing of the Rawalpindi agreement, by which Afghanistan became an independent sovereign state.